Cabot's Matthew

Roy Mac Keen indicates this was 13, built by Devco as a training vessel for Cabotcraft staff (email from Roy: May 05). John Dodge says Tom Kent, CEO of Devco, gave the boat this name. Was chartered out of Bedeck. Rod Desborough sailed her up to Pictou for a re-fit with John Dodge in 1980and then back to Dundee, where she was eventually sold to Arthur Morris for 65,000 without an engine. Desborough says he recalls J. Dodge saying “the cabinets were a mock-up of what they were supposed to be,” which sort of connects with Cancil’s recollection that the boat in the Annapolis show of ‘74 had things roughed out in a similar way.

Morris says this boat was hull #14, so we have a conflict to resolve. We’ll take Morris info and hope to confirm. He also reports the gelcoat was 3/16 inch thick. Also that he added a bowsprit to his, extending the forestay about 2 feet and that took a lot of weather helm off. Morris is a marine engineer and sailed the boat for 13 years full time. Also says he had the hull/deck join glassed over in ‘84, obliterating the original hull number.

Sold in 2001/02 for $90,000 to Mike McGrath. In the summer of 2004 it was in the yard at Port Pier Marina, St. Catharines, Ontario, being worked on. Launched in the late summer of that year and sailed out to the Maritimes. Hauled out in St. Johns Nfd. Arthur Morris says the boat was a government “Party Boat” when owned by Devco and chartered out of Bedeck.